The coastal area of the southernmost tip of the Central Plains, where the Southern Sea Sword Queen was active, was a lawless zone beyond the reach of the Empire’s administrative influence.
And most of the people living there were what the Central Plains referred to as “barbarians,” much like the Southern Sea Sword Queen’s Southern Sea Sword School.
Their ancestors were immigrants who had come from the island regions outside the continent.
Frankly, even back in the martial arts era, they were considered quite exotic.
Of course, even I was quite surprised when they suddenly appeared as Latin descent, but still.
Although the Southern Sea region existed beyond the Empire’s influence, it was still inhabited.
Naturally, there were divisions between the orthodox and heterodox factions.
Moreover, the people here were known for their strong, rough temperaments, as well as their straightforwardness.
Because of this, there was a prevailing internal analysis that this place was quite conducive to exchanges with the New Religion.
Now, if the New Religion decided to pursue these exchanges…
It would naturally be the responsibility of Bima Pavilion, which handled external affairs, and establishing ties with the Southern Sea region would become my assigned task.
And so, I ended up heading down there, counting it as a short vacation.
The first faction I made contact with in this area was the representative heterodox sect of the region, Sea Dragon School.
I thought the Sea Dragon School, belonging to the heterodox faction, would be more convenient to deal with than the orthodox Southern Sea Sword School.
After all, while the Southern Sea Sword School was closer to the boundary between the orthodox and heterodox, it was still part of the orthodox.
It would be uncomfortable on both sides for them to deal with the New Religion.
My meeting with the Southern Sea Sword Queen was entirely by chance.
It so happened that pirates attacked when I was there.
What was interesting was the fact that although the Sea Dragon School’s territory was attacked first, the Southern Sea Sword School rushed in like mad and cut down the pirates.
I, too, being a half-Korean, had a heightened sensitivity to the word “pirates,” and together with the Southern Sea Sword School and Sea Dragon School, I hunted the pirates.
“After all, we were teammates when we hunted pirates together. It’d be more strange if there weren’t any bonds formed.”
At the time, the scale of the pirate raid on the Southern Sea region was unprecedented.
I stayed till the end and threw myself into the pirate hunt.
As a result, I not only gained the favor of the Southern Sea locals but also formed a good relationship with the Southern Sea Sword Queen.
Something along the lines of, “When you’re hunting pirates, there’s no reason to distinguish between righteousness, secularism, or demons,” came to mind.
With ‘Kill Japs, Kill Japs, Kill more Japs’ ringing in my ears, the Southern Sea Sword School and the Southern Sea Sword Queen were far more righteous than the Central Plains orthodox factions who would likely throw fits at the mention of the New Religion.
“They really had a unique feeling when cutting down pirates. This too, will become part of history.”
Thus, the relationship between me and the Southern Sea Sword Queen could be considered a friendship close to comradery.
The inner bond formed while cutting down pirates together was the most accurate description.
I distinctly reported it accurately in my report, but for them not to understand it was surprising.
It seems that understanding the anti-pirate sentiment we shared was too much to expect for someone from the Divine River region like Heavenly Yuah.
“Elia Ponz. 28 years old. I hear she’s from Venezuela.”
“Ah, South America. Definitely…”
While I was flustered, the S&M division had already collected information.
Was it because of the unusual intensity of Heavenly Yuah? It seemed like they had rushed in at lightning speed.
The first piece of information that emerged was that she was from South America, Venezuela, and…
“Apparently, she ran a neighborhood watch group in Venezuela. The entire village emigrated to the U.S., and they formed a stunt team for livelihood. The current team also consists of people who originally worked together in the neighborhood watch group.”
“Aah, I see. She did seem like she was from the same region.”
“It’s because the political situation there is pretty unstable. Gangs and the government are in chaos. It’s total anarchy.”
“So that’s why she started the neighborhood watch…”
She had led a neighborhood watch group and then emigrated to the United States with nearby residents for freedom.
The current stunt team also consisted of former watch group members.
A neighborhood watch? This is some tough stuff.
Actually, thinking about the Southern Sea Sword Queen, it seems they fit together rather nicely.
Her extensive combat experience made sense now, having gained it while fighting against gangs.
“There’s no other information, but what bothers me is that her relationships with men are sharp and clear. We need to stay cautious.”
“But that girl is…”
“Yes, is there any problem?”
“…No, it’s nothing.”
Honestly, that is a truly unnecessary concern.
Anyone listening would realize she’s extremely synchronized with the Southern Sea Sword Queen.
Besides, if Elia Ponz truly is the reincarnation of the Southern Sea Sword Queen, then there’s absolutely no chance of anything happening between her and me.
Sigh, I don’t know.
Overthinking this would only lead to self-harm, so it’s better not to worry about it.
“Hey, that’s good. Cool, Siwoo.”
“Elly also did a great job. So, this scene would be better approached like this. What do the others think?”
“They say it’s good. Thumbs up. Friends like Siwoo.”
“Oh? Please let him know I think it’s good too. Their high energy is contagious.”
In our team, the action scenes are mostly on me.
That’s why I spend the most time with Team Libertad.
The members of Team Libertad reminded me of the Southern Sea Sword School, and I get along well with them.
A freedom that doesn’t involve calculations?
Among these people, that kind of vitality exists.
Thanks to this, I’m enjoying arranging the action scenes.
But because I’ve been here for an extended period, two women who are wary of Elly are also here.
And whenever I try to have a deeper conversation with Elly…
“Elly, could you take a look at this scene?”
“Elly, what about this?”
Moon Suyeon and Heavenly Yuah start asking her trivial things.
Elly, the head of Team Libertad, also serves as the action director for this movie, so these two seeking advice isn’t much of an issue.
But the timing is a problem.
You could call it oversight from their respective strategies.
“Oh, Yuah. That’s great!”
“Luna, like this. Good good.”
And every time they interfere, Elly smiles broadly and kindly guides them.
Honestly, it’s funny.
Even without mentioning the Heavenly Demon, Moon Suyeon who inherited Yeon-i’s memories is now so experienced in battle and action scenes that they could probably teach them by instinct.
Even someone from an orthodox background, like Hao Moonzhu, is familiar with combat since the Hao Moon group isn’t an easy faction.
So, they’re deliberately pretending to be unskilled in order to separate Elly from me.
“I think the more they do this, the closer Elly will be to me, creating a sort of vicious cycle I don’t fully understand.”
No matter how I think of it, it’s a situation that makes me chuckle pointlessly.
To me, it’s clear that Elly’s frequent approaching me has a definite purpose.
But that purpose isn’t me.
It might feel like revealing Elly’s secret to the two of them is tempting, but this is a personal issue, so I’ve decided to keep my mouth shut.
Their constant overreactions somewhat amuse me.
Anyway, once the action scenes are shot, Elly will be stepping away from the scene, so there’s no need to worry about it extensively.
That’s what I thought…
“Ah, is that person the action director?”
“Oh my, she’s so young? Moreover, she’s… quite stunning. She looks like some Amazonian warrior.”
“Yes? I also felt that way… Oh, that’s it. Something’s coming to me.”
“…Coming? What do you mean?”
“There was an element missing in our movie, something that inevitably became a gap left blank…”
“Ah, yes. I also sense something is coming. It must be that, right?”
“I can’t wait. Let’s go see Director Nam first.”
“Director Yuah will probably be there too.”
“They’re all gathered there. Let’s go.”
Yang Yuli and Writer Ok, who had visited the action practice site, suddenly recalled something as they observed Elly practicing, and they rushed away to find Director Nam Hyun-a.
No, what exactly is this about?
When I see someone excitedly holding onto their own insights, I feel anger rising from deep within.
What’s the difference between leaving something unsaid and this exactly? Hmm.
Since I also wanted to know what it was, I hurried after them.
“Adding a role?”
“Yeah, Director Nam. Let’s add a role. You also thought the Lycan story was a bit lacking, right?”
“No, is it really appropriate to do this now?”
“The script will be sent out immediately today. The feeling just hit me when I looked at it.”
“It might be that we had this Code Number 2 spot reserved for today.”
“It wasn’t necessarily that, but let’s go with that.”
“But…”
“How about we first look at the script? Director Nam might like it too, perhaps.”
Based on the atmosphere, it seems they have intentions to specially cast Elly for a new role.
Mr. Writer Ok, known for his mastery of side-scripts in dramas, seems to be activating his expertise here as well.
But are they really planning to add side-scripts in a movie as well?
When an additional character is introduced, there’s a lot that needs changing.
“…This works?”
But Writer Ok eventually pulled off the impossible.
He does indeed have an incredible knack for last-minute script changes.
“…It’s not bad, actually.”
“Not bad?”
“No, honestly… it’s pretty good.”
“Director Nam, you’ve seen that friend Elly, right? Doesn’t she have tremendous star power?”
“Yes, she’s a style the South Koreans would adore.”
“Most importantly…”
“She’s beautiful.”
“That’s right. She’s beautiful, has a great figure, and excels in action.”
“Assigning action to someone skilled in action isn’t necessarily a bad thing.”
And Writer Ok’s last-minute script seemed to resonate well with Director Nam Hyun-a.
Director Nam judged that Elly’s stunning appearance and proficient action would be enough to make a competitive presence in this industry.
Particularly, her being a Latin Beauty favored by South Koreans is a very strong asset.
The criteria for beauty in the East and the West differ slightly, but Elly’s features would likely resonate more in the East.
Certainly, she would be recognized as beautiful in the West, but in the East, she stands out far more than that.
“Yes, let’s go with it.”
“You’re satisfied?”
“Yes, upon reading the script, I don’t see an area of concern. It seems this will benefit the project as well.”
“I’m surprised.”
“There’s no reason to be. We can monitor her while keeping personal matters separate—since this has no romance line.”
Even when it’s not directly related to my work, Director Yuah clearly distinguishes between public and private matters.
Moreover, her role won’t be entangled with mine, as per the script.
“Using a teaser would yield great publicity. Most Korean men would be stunned when they see her.”
Director Yuah seems to be considering her as a secret weapon.
After all, ‘Incredible Latin Beauty who can also excel in action,’ always has demand.
Indeed, she’s an investor who makes clear judgments outside of my work.
“Wow, but I’m not really a good actress.”
“That’s fine. It’s a role where acting isn’t the main concern. Just do what Elly usually does.”
“Oh, about the pay…”
“The pay… is like this.”
“Oh my god, I totally love you, Yuah!”
And she took on the offer to debut as an actress.
Seems she initially desired to be an action actress, but ultimately turned to stunt work due to acting challenges.
Of course, it would be odd if someone with that kind of looks hadn’t dreamed of being an actress.
Unless she had completely stayed out from entertainment, but if she’s currently active with the stunt team…
That way, an actress joined the film unexpectedly.
Although, it was rather reckless for them to make such last-minute decisions.
The film’s success will tell if this decision was right.
